Activities

Thank you to all the parents who participated in the Makerspace Ornament Fundraiser! We were able to raise over $1,500 for the Makerspace, so that Mr. Calvert can buy more supplies and materials to keep our Makerspace innovative and inspiring for the students. We would also like to give a special "thank you" to Melinda Gatterman who gave every bit of free time she had to help make the fundraiser a success!

Makerspace

How the Makerspace came to be ...

In August 2018, it was official...GO'K was to have a makerspace. Back then, our "MakerSpace" was still called "The Computer Lab Under the Stairs - and btw, have your students bring work to do while they wait for the PCs to fire up!"

By the end of August 2018, Mission MakerSpace was underway. The dinosaur PCs and floor tiles had been removed, the Promethean board disappeared, and the intimidating presence of our school's principal, Jessica Owen, wielding a hammer and toting a tool belt, was not an uncommon sight. But despite all the hubbub and commotion, and a completion deadline of September 24th, Cory Calvert (our makerspace EA) and the newly-formed RAM MakerSpace committee were still looking at a very EMPTY space.

After an awe-inspiring tour of EG Ross’s makerspace, the committee was not short of ideas on how to fill that void. We even had some start-up money, thanks to $20K from our generous PTA plus $12K from our operating budget, which would cover the salary of a full-time EA to maintain the space and support our kids, in addition to $1,200 from a Caring Cents fundraiser. But there was no way we could hope to recreate what EG Ross had – after all, neither Rome nor makerspaces were built in a day! So, “Start Small, Slow, and Steady” became the mantra for Mission MakerSpace.

Fast-forward to December 2018…RAM MakerSpace is now operational. On Monday, September 24th, students from K through 5 began their fifty-minute weekly visits. Due to our desperately limited funds, this space continues to be a work in progress. Nonetheless, with eighteen stations to choose from, time spent here has become an eagerly-awaited treat for all our students and teachers. Will it ever be like the one at EG Ross? We hope not! From the get-go, RAM MakerSpace was on a mission to develop its own unique personality and vibe, and with the continued financial support of our generous GO’K community, we’d like to keep it that way.